Accuse us of flip-flopping if you must, but we have a good reason to change our minds.

In 2014, we endorsed Democratic candidate David L. Singer over Republican incumbent Judge Mike Fields. This time, however, we’re going with Fields, 53, because he’s the only Republican incumbent to withdraw from the county’s continued fight against Judge Lee Rosenthal’s finding on the bail system.

Fields told us that the judges are setting up defendants for failure by requiring them to show up thevery next day after they get out of jail.

“We made it so that people who are poor get out of jail drunk sometimes, high sometimes, have to sleep in front of the bench outside the courthouse or not show up."

The St. Mary’s University School of Law graduate acknowledges that he’s “not perfect and makes mistakes,” which accounts for our decision four years ago. Fields also stands by his work in Veteran’s Court, where he uses innovative strategies to help veterans facing a criminal charge get a second chance to set their lives straight.

Singer posed a pertinent question to the editorial board: “Why did it take a lawsuit for Judge Fields to make this change?”

The fact that Fields spent 20 years on the bench presiding over a system that essentially criminalized poverty does ring alarm bells. He’s admittedly late to the party, but Fields appears to have had an authentic change of heart. The U.S. Army veteran told us that Harris County studies metrics about efficiency but not about compassion.

“We’re looking at the wrong things and getting the wrong results.”

Fields' actions — not only his words — suggest he is open to genuine reform.